The Pinnacle of MILFs — Target the Empress!

I walked the underground tunnels, shaking my head at the sour, astringent stench. You'd think I'd be used to it by now. Ugh, goddamn it.

I just can't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠get used to this smell. Figured the capital's sewers would be different, but they're even filthier. That's a city for you, I guess.

A snort of laughter escaped me. Relying on memory, I headed for where the hidden piece was supposed to be.

Surprisingly, this place didn't seem to have been touched by the cultists. No traces of those bastards anywhere.

They'd normally turn somewhere like this into a hideout, the way they did in Weaverpool. Then again, this spot's pretty brutal.

The capital underground was vast enough that most of the monsters down here were humanoid types. But even among those humanoids, there were some seriously dangerous specimens — Shadow Stalkers, a goblin variant; Flesh-Cleaver, an orc variant; and plenty more besides.

This was the kind of place those things could show ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠up. That was why even the Imperial Palace only managed the tunnel entrances. They didn't bother sending soldiers this deep.

I'd rather just see this kind of shit in a game. Ugh, killing my appetite.

I considered plugging my nose, but that was pointless. What was already in there wasn't going anywhere. Why didn't Invincibility block this kind of thing?

The air was growing damper. The atmosphere had gotten a lot darker, too.

A presence. I turned my head, thinking something had come out.

What emerged was a wyvern — the textbook specimen of a C-rank monster. One wing badly torn, it hung from the ceiling and roared.

"Well, you weren't exactly what I was looking for. Nice to meet you anyway?"

The wyvern answered my greeting with a swipe of its tail. The tip was sharp as a blade. The tail came flying at me, gleaming cold — and I just took the hit and kept moving forward.

I staggered for a moment, then kicked off the ground and closed the distance. Just as the wyvern wound up for another tail swipe—

The wyvern roared, sacrificing one wing to block White Thunderbolt. Then it used that long neck to lunge its jaws straight at me.

"What are you— huh?"

The thing bit down on my head. It thrashed me around with my skull still in its mouth, and honestly, it didn't even hurt — it just felt disgusting.

I grabbed its lower jaw and asked,

"The hell, man. You reek like shit. You gonna let go or what, you fuck?"

I drove a front kick into it. The wyvern went into stun and crashed to the ground. I descended on the fallen beast, flicking my sword casually.

Easy enough. I finished looting and collected its wing membrane, bones, and teeth.

No way I'd struggle against something this weak. The one I'm after is B-minus rank.

I pressed forward.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Moving without hesitation, I came upon a clearing dotted with strange fluids here and there. The white, sticky stuff looked like cum, but it didn't have that chestnut-blossom smell. There was a lot more of a faintly sky-blue liquid, though.

Finally… I found it!

Among slimes, there was one that sat at legendary Pocket Monster tier. The Ether Slime!

Along with the quest, the thing that had been crouched there revealed itself.

At a glance it was a three-meter slime, its entire body sky-blue. But the creature itself was translucent, and an ether defense mechanism was layered over it — it took no physical damage. On top of that, its habitat wasn't fixed, which made it incredibly rare to encounter. That said, it was known to seek out battlefields, so it almost always showed up around war zones.

That's how I was able to pinpoint this thing's location!

I approached it. It didn't take physical damage, sure — but I was different.

"Hmm-hmm-hmm, hm-hmm!"

I hummed as I walked closer, and the slime shrank back as if wary of me. Then, sensing danger, it inflated its body.

The lightning bolt swept over me and passed through. Yeah, and?

"That's 3rd Circle magic, right? Yeah, meaningless."

I kept approaching. Sky-blue energy began wrapping around the slime's entire body, swirling. That was ether — not cosmic energy, but a natural energy originating from the planet itself.

Kahloom would be the knockoff version, probably.

The slime bound that ether into a single mass and launched it into the air. I was about to see what it was doing when the mass came down as a thunderbolt. Transforming ether to cast high-level magic — that was the Ether Slime's specialty.

"Yeah, sorry, but that doesn't hurt. I'm invincible. Truly sorry."

I offered a half-assed apology and charged. The slime thickened and transformed its entire body. That was magic too.

I just punched through it. The slime's translucent body convulsed violently. Having lost a quarter of itself, it retreated, and I laughed.

"Try harder, pal."

I turned it into complete scrap. Then an impact hit me from behind.

"Hm?"

In an instant I was trapped inside a giant cube of sky-blue liquid. I could move my body around, but anything beyond that was difficult.

I knew what this was.

Hah. One of the Ether Slime's finishing moves. Absorption.

Everything around me was sky-blue, but this was ether energy wrapping around me, trying to make me part of the slime. That was why the color was growing deeper.

Aigoo. Pointless.

I gripped my sword and swung in every direction. No technique needed. I was invincible, and I had a title that let me cut through anything.

I shattered the cube and came back out. The slime trembled all over, letting out something like a scream, and filled the entire clearing with sky-blue energy.

"Oh… that's pretty."

In an instant, the beautifully glowing sky-blue energy turned scarlet and became a catalyst for explosion. A violent blast shook the clearing. The moment before I was swallowed by it, I tried to tank it on Invincibility — and got a surprise.

The edges of my clothes disintegrated. My arm felt heat.

What, it punches through Invincibility? Ah — ether's a unique energy, like Kahloom!

Unique energy. Natural energy. These things were said to exist above the laws of the world — under-researched, rare concepts.

But what did I have?

I slipped back into the ring. Inside, the women were gathered around Rin, chatting.

"Oh my god, she's a girl but look at those muscles…?"

"If only she were a guy♥ I'd milk him all day long♥"

"Oh, come on, sis. Lashu's is still the best, though♥"

"My nephew belongs to me, you bitches."

I stared at them blankly for a moment. The hell were they doing the second I was gone.

Wait. How many seconds has it been?

The Ether Slime's finishing move, Apocalypse. A dangerous ability that triggered a massive explosion for five seconds.

Should be about time.

I returned to reality. I was fine.

Thinking I'd been swallowed by the explosion and vanished, the slime was slumped over, limp. Time to catch it off guard?

Its core was visible at close range.

"That was fun. See you!"

The core was pierced and wrecked. The slime shuddered, trying once more to paint the clearing sky-blue.

"Ah-ah, no you don't! Hup — sit. It's my turn this time!"

I unleashed Pruning with the blade still buried in it. Hacked to pieces from every direction, the slime was reduced to nothing but fragments of liquid monster.

Done.

Even with a name like that, it was a special byproduct that could actually cure incurable diseases. Incredibly rare — the Imperial Palace didn't even have any.

Well. That was why it was a hidden piece.

I was about to leave when something gleamed where the slime had been. Thinking it was a gem, I approached — and found something unexpected.

"Huh, this?!"

A small vial, pink. What was it?

Powdered aphrodisiac.

Holy shit. I never thought I'd see this. Why the hell was it here?

"Jackpot. Wait a second. What if I did it like this instead?"

I'd been itching to take the Empress for a long time anyway. Devouring the woman at the absolute peak of the world. That alone would be remembered for generations… which would actually be a problem.

With this, my goal should be easy to pull off. Heh heh heh.

My depraved-hero instincts kicked in. I smeared the powdered aphrodisiac onto the special byproduct and headed back to the Imperial Palace.

My heart was pounding. I felt like a naughty kid getting a magnificent prank ready.

I explained the situation to the Steward.

"My father told me about this. Please, use it!"

"…I've heard of it before myself. To think you'd obtain something so precious. Lashu, you are a hero sent down from the heavens!"

The Steward hurried off to administer the special byproduct — the one with powdered aphrodisiac on it.

All I had to do was wait.

I waited leisurely in my chambers, smiling darkly. What was I supposed to do about this grin that kept creeping onto my face?

One hour later.

"Lashu, you magnificent bastard! Her Majesty the Empress has recovered! Her breathing has returned to normal, and her complexion has improved!"

"That's a relief!"

"Hah. Her Majesty wishes to see you. This is an honor — do not refuse."

"I'm grateful, of course. It's an honor."

I followed the Steward toward the Empress. How nice it was when a plan clicked into place, step by step. Heh heh.

As we walked, everyone around stared only at me. Word of this latest incident must have spread — they couldn't stop marveling.

"That's the son of Hero Reiner?"

"What a hell of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a performance. They say he cut down tens of thousands of cultists all by himself? The Cult Slayer, through and through."

"And now he's even saved the Empress. Man, what's it like being Lashu?"

"I'm a noble, and even I envy that guy!"

We climbed higher and higher, and I laughed on the inside.

Alright. Time to fuck this nation's mother.

I licked my lips and kept my expression in check. At last, the Steward stopped.